Deeper Than It Appears
by stinichra
Summary: Collection of one-shots inspired by the Word of the Day.  Maxie had no idea what expression he saw on her face, but it made him bring his hand up to her face, and pull her close for a kiss that, combined with what she'd just learned, left her reeling.
1. Usufruct

**Author's Note:** I got the idea to do this from **Artemis Rayne** and **NeoNails** of the Covert Affairs fandom (if you watch the show, you should definitely be reading their stories). They use the Word of the Day to write unrelated one shots. I thought I'd give it a try. I will not be doing it every day. Mine will also be a day behind (this entry is for the July 14th word). I plan to bounce between M&M and Mayan. Whichever couple comes to mind when I read the word will be the focus of the story. I won't have them under the same story, though. So this set will contain M&M and I'll create another for Mayan.

In case you're wondering, the title is just because I've always thought they could/do have a deeper relationship than we get to see.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters or the show. Things would be quite different if I was the sheriff over there.

July 14: usufruct (noun): the right to use the property of another as long as it isn't damaged.

* * *

><p>There was no particular sound or movement that awakened Maxie. On the rare occasion that she got the perfect amount of sleep (nine hours and twenty minutes), she managed to wake up on her own. It seemed this was one of those few treasured mornings.<p>

She stretched as much as she could without displacing the comforting weight of the arm around her. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined enjoying the simple feel of him as much as she did. Idly, she stroked her fingers down his arm and thought of the previous night's activities. A shiver went down her spine as she remembered it. The night before had been… earth shattering. Lately, her life had been stressful, to say the absolute least. Being taken hostage, shot at, and watching someone dear to her almost die…

It was a terrible set of events to have sitting on her mind and, frankly, she didn't understand how everyone else seemed to be handling it so well. Her only recourse had been to insert herself into the lives of her friends. As much as she truly believed Sam and Jason should get married, getting them to come to terms with that was almost equally important for the distracting qualities of the challenge. If she focused on them, she could avoid dealing with her own crap.

But Matt didn't let that go on for long. Following the results of the hospital investigation and subsequent changes at the medical institution, he sought her out. She'd come back from a picking up samples to find him waiting for her at her desk with her favorite chocolates. Somehow, he'd also managed to convince Kate to give her the rest of the night off and took her home with him. Maxie thought he would try to make her to talk about _it_, despite her prior denial that anything was wrong and insistence that she was fine. Instead, he merely asked - not forced, not demanded - her to open up to him. And she caved, letting out everything she'd been feeling. The lovemaking that followed was sweetly intense, almost bringing tears to her eyes. Round two, however…

Maxie felt Matt stir behind her, the reflexive tightening of his grip. She grinned while leaning over the edge of the bed, grabbing a discarded item from round two.

"Hey, you," Matt said, reaching to pull her back. "What are you doing?"

Turning in his embrace to face him, Maxie held the item up between them. "I just wanted to make sure I returned this in the condition it was loaned to me."

Matt opened his eyes to look at it and mirrored her grin, memories of the night before flashing in his mind as he took his stethoscope from her. Maxie leaned forward, kissing him with all the energy her full night's rest had restored. "Thanks for letting me be the doctor last night."

"Mm, anytime."

She promptly grabbed the instrument back from him. "In that case…"


	2. Zugzwang

**Author's Note: **This takes place during/after the July 1 ep. It's terrible, but I wrote it so I might as well post it.

_zugzwang:_ a situation in which a player is limited to moves that have a damaging effect.

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><p>Not too long ago, this would've been an easier decision to make. Scary mob boss tells you to use your feminine wiles to get his money back from your ex, you do it. And why wouldn't he think Maxie would go along with his suggestion? She wasn't exactly known for being faithful in her relationships. In his mind, it probably seemed like a perfectly acceptable request for him to make.<p>

With hardly any effort at all, she could find herself in Spinelli/Jackal PI's bed. His behavior as this alternate version of himself assured her he wouldn't say no. It would be simple for Maxie to test out Sonny's theory and maybe get her friend back. Something had to give soon. He was getting out of control. However, in the process, she'd be hurting Matt.

Matt, her surprisingly sweet egomaniac boyfriend, who only expected the truth from her. Because of him and Spinelli, she was different now. Her experiences with both men had wrought changes in her that she wasn't opposed to. Among them, her determination to be a faithful girlfriend. Achieving that goal did not include sleeping with her ex-non-husband to get Sonny's money back. Even if it meant missing the chance to bring Spinelli back to himself.

Despite the corner she briefly felt back into, there was only one choice to make. And it turned out to be an easy decision after all.


	3. Dearth

**Author's Note:** I'm behind! This is for the July 20th word. I have a basic skeleton, if you will, for yesterday's word that I should be able to complete tonight.

**dearth**: an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack.

* * *

><p>Like a whirlwind, his energetic girlfriend swept into his apartment. And not for the first time, Matt Hunter acknowledged that he did a considerable amount of nodding in agreement in their relationship. As was the Maxie Jones way, she'd already started talking before she'd fully crossed the threshold. Barely able to keep up with her words, he started nodding along to what she said until he could catch up.<p>

"It flew over the ledge! One minute it was on my hand and the next it was falling through the sky. A gorgeous, glittery expensive diamond in the sky. What am I going to do? How do I fix this?"

"Ok, let me get this straight," he began as she started to pace back and forth across his living room. "You helped Jason pick out an engagement ring, then decided you needed to try it on. _Then_ you went outside with it and started throwing your hand all over the place." He pulled Maxie to a stop in front of him. "Does that sound about right?"

She fixed her face into what he thought was the world's sexiest pout. "When you say it like that, it sounds so…" She flopped her hand in the air searching for the right word.

"Crazy?" Matt supplied. He was treated to another pout and sad eyes.

"I wanted to see how it looked in natural light. Sam is a wonderful person and she deserves the best. That's all I wanted for her. A magical, romantic engagement memory."

Matt gathered her in his arms, leaned his forehead against hers. "Jason and Sam love each other, right? Whether it's a diamond or plastic from a Ring Pop, she will cherish this memory and you helped with that. You did not ruin this for them. Ok?"

"Yeah, I guess," she answered unconvincingly.

He kissed her still pouting mouth, already mentally canceling their dinner plans. "Do you want to try and get a replacement now or wait until tomorrow?"

Her face lit up excitedly. "Now, now, now. Do you mind if the jeweler meets me here?" He just barely managed to answer in the affirmative before she continued. "First, I'll call someone to check for the lost one. I mean, it could be hanging on a flower petal or something. Then, I'll call to see if the jeweler has anything close to the original just in case." Maxie ran out of his arms towards his desk, pulling out a notepad. Abruptly, she stopped and walked back to him. "You're incredible, you know that?"

"Actually, I do." His response made her laugh and earned him a loud smacking kiss on the lips. As she went about her plan, Matt could do nothing but watch, smiling.


	4. Detente

**Author's Note**: I did it! This is for the July 21st word. Notice how happy they are in my world? I didn't know I'd be writing so many fluffy chapters to this.

**detente:** a relaxing of tension, especially between nations.

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><p>"Your time is over. Face it. There's a new top dog in town."<p>

"In your dreams. Because that's the only place you'll ever be better than me."

"I'm better than you now, old man."

"I'm not getting old, I'm just getting better. And better."

As the two brothers went back and forth, Maxie Jones alternated between rolling her eyes and fighting laughter. The foursome had come to Jake's to relax, hang out, maybe play darts. But, instead, Matt and Patrick were bringing their sibling rivalry to the forefront. Again. It seemed the two Drake sons could not let this go. It was clearly an argument they enjoyed having, because it occurred at least twice a month - that she knew of. She was sure if she asked Robin, who was doing her own eye roll/laughter/sigh combo, her cousin would inform her that this debate happened more often than that.

Between her and Robin, they possessed tons of knowledge about a variety of subjects. Yet, they'd only found one way to get Patrick and Matt to stop arguing - seduction. After listening to the two of them for the past twenty minutes, neither woman could take it anymore. They communicated silently and each put their plans into motion.

While Robin lured Patrick to the dance floor, Maxie slid her hand onto Matt's leg under the table. Acting as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on, she let her fingers crawl higher with each pass, lingering at the top. As expecting, the previously chatty doctor stopped talking and tightened his grip on his beer. Somehow keeping the grin off her face, she moved closer to whisper in his ear, "I was thinking we could stay and play darts or we could go back to my place and play Twister." She could tell he was recalling the last time they played the game. And where they'd ended up.

Instead of answering, he took her hand and all but dragged her to the dance floor where his brother looked equally dazed. "We're heading out. You two have fun."

Maxie practically skipped to keep up with him, laughing as she thought, _Men are so easy_.


	5. Entelechy

**Author's Note:** This is another short one. Maybe the next word that inspires me will result in a decent length post. I just felt like make this one longer wouldn't take something away from it. It's for the August 2nd word.

**entelechy:** a realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality

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><p>The revelation came quietly, a mere whisper of a thought in his head. It caught Matt by surprise with its lack of fanfare. Shouldn't things like this hit you like a bolt of lightning? Or maybe feel like he'd been hit by a bus? Isn't that the way it was supposed to go?<p>

He and Maxie were having dinner at the Metro Court, finally able to order after she made a phone call to Sam about Spinelli getting himself into trouble. Instead of following her ex, as he thought she might, the way she usually did, Maxie asked someone else to handle it. His shock must have shown on his face when she returned, because she smiled at him as she sat, saying simply, "It's your turn to be first."

And that was it. That was when he found himself thinking, _I love her._ Matt was in love for the first time in his life. With a woman who spent half her time helping to run a successful fashion magazine, another thirty percent tied to Spinelli and various members of the mob, and carved out a percentage for him when she could. He was in love with a woman who made it clear she didn't think she was cut out for long term relationships. With someone who admitted her abandonment issues left wounds that had yet to heal. He was in love with this gorgeous woman with a penchant for trouble, who someone had just warned him away from mere days ago because of her past unscrupulous behavior.

He was in love with a woman who, despite all that, somehow managed to be his match. With a woman who was strong, ambitious, determined, challenging, beautiful, funny, fantastic in bed, and secretly sweet. He was in love with a woman who came to have supply closet sex on their lunch breaks, sincerely asked for his advice when she was troubled, and in her sleep held him as if she never wanted to let him go. He loved Maxie, who trusted him, was honest with him, who was shifting her priorities for him.

He was in love and it felt right.


	6. Hacienda

**Author's Note:** Another one! Woohoo! My goal is to not be more than a week behind the word. I think I'm doing ok so far. As promised, this one is a little longer. I don't know anything about farms or ranches, which will certainly be clear here, so I hope I don't offend anyone. I wrote most of this last night before I went to bed and rushed the edits today. Let me know if there are any glaring errors. Thanks for reading and I hope you like it! It's for the August 3rd word.

**hacienda:** a large estate, especially one used for farming or ranching

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><p>Maxie gazed at the landscape before her, still surprised that she was actually here. On a ranch. An honest to God ranch with cows, horses, and, heaven help her, pigs. Why was she here?<p>

"I could get used to this," Matt shared, eyes closed with a relaxed look on his face.

Oh, wait. She remembered. Because her boyfriend, a hotshot brain surgeon, brought her here as a surprise. They were sitting on the back of a hay truck _with hay still on it_, parked behind a red barn (was this place for real?) watching the sunset. She turned to her right to look at him. Matt Hunter, one of the top doctors at General Hospital, was wearing a cowboy hat and had a piece of straw hanging from his lips. She would have laughed if she was anywhere else. You know, like not on a ranch. What the hell was she doing here?

Mere hours into their long weekend and she was already losing it. She met his look of contentment with an incredulous one of her own. "Used to what? The dirt? The mud? The constant smell of shit?" Maxie shook her head in disbelief. "When you told me you had a surprise for me, this wasn't exactly what I was expecting."

He had the nerve to grin. "I know. Isn't it great?"

"Um, that's not the word I was thinking of, no," she responded, picking off hay from her shirt.

Matt looped an arm around her shoulders, fitting her next to his body. "Come on, Maxie. It's not that bad. You just have to let go and enjoy yourself." He inhaled deeply. "Enjoy nature."

She turned to face him, smiling brightly, sliding an arm around his waist. "You know what I'd really enjoy? A hotel suite with room service, a four star restaurant, boutiques, and an indoor pool."

"Been there, done that. But this? This is new. That is the purpose of a surprise, you know. For it to be _surprising_." When she rolled her eyes, he continued. "Seriously, you've done that plenty of times before and you'll do it again. I wanted us to try something new together - the great outdoors."

That's why she was here. Because this crazy man said things like that to her. "Right, because nothing says Maxie like the great outdoors."

Another deep inhale, this one much less appreciative, and a lot more annoyed. "You're right. This was a bad idea. Don't know what I was thinking." His happy expression gone, Matt pulled his arm back to his side and hopped off the truck, tossing the straw from his mouth to the grass. He extended his hand to help her down, too. "If we pack now, we can get out of here before it gets too dark."

Maxie's immediate reaction was elation. No more hay! No more roosters waking her up at the crack of dawn! No more - _shit_. She took moment from her own excitement to truly look at him. Ever since arriving, Matt was calmer, more laid back. He genuinely liked it here and she spent the whole day complaining, and not so secretly missing their no longer in existence trip to France.

She placed her fingers in his. Instead of using his hand to get down from the truck, she held it in her grip and steered him in front of her, wrapping her legs around his waist. "No, we're not leaving."

He regarded her curiously for several moments. "But you don't want to be here."

"Well, not particularly. But I want to be with you and, for some reason I can't begin to understand, you want to be here." Maxie clasped her hands around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at the nape. Bringing her face closer to his, she placed a lingering kiss on his lips. "So we stay."

"With no more whining about the animals, the weather, the accommodations?"

Eyebrow raised, she replied, "I'll try my best. That's all I can promise."

"I can work with that." He pushed her farther back onto the bed of the truck, climbing back up to join her, and set her in front of him. She sighed as Matt's fingers idly stroked the exposed skin where her shirt ended and her jeans began. "The bonfire's starting soon."

Her mouth opened and snapped back closed. She wasn't going to complain. That was the new deal. "That sounds… nice."

Her efforts did not go unnoticed. "But I was thinking we'd take advantage of this relative privacy and find out what it's like to make love in a hay truck."

While she managed to swallow her earlier retort about the bonfire, Maxie couldn't stop the burst of laughter that spilled out this time. "That sounds a whole lot better," she commented, turning in his arms to face him. "But, Matt?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I'm picking the next trip."


	7. Overslaugh

**Author's Note:** Look who's kicking these bad boys out! I've got another planned for today's word, but I don't know when I'll actually get to writing and posting it. Maybe by Sunday at the latest. This one takes place after the August 3rd episode/scenes at the hospital. The word is from August 5th.

**overslaugh:** to pass over or disregard (a person) by giving a promotion, position, etc., to another instead.

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><p>When Maxie located Matt, he was flipping through charts at the information desk of another floor. She strode off the elevator, creeping up behind him. "Hey there, sexy doctor. I've been looking for you." Distracted, he glanced over his shoulder at her, murmuring a greeting and checking a few more things off the chart. She moved next to him to lean on the counter and poked him in his side. "What's wrong? You look pretty down."<p>

"Robin is driving us crazy, literally." He finished with the chart and turned to face her, the words spilling forth like a dam had burst. "She's changed just about everything. There are new colors and procedures and charts and schedules. I don't know how much longer any of us can take it. You wouldn't reconsider talking to her, would you? Patrick's afraid to in case it puts their marriage back on the rocks. But I may have convinced him to give something a shot. If you dropped a hint, too, it might really help."

"Actually," Maxie shared, "I did say something about it a few minutes ago. I may have made an impression, but I'm not sure. She did seem to be really focused on this job and on not having Patrick do most of the surgeries."

"Oh, no. It's not just Patrick. I've been benched, too."

"Well, we'll see if what I said to her makes any impact. If not, I could try again?" she offered tentatively. "I saw her talking to Epiphany and she did not look happy at all. And that won't be good for anyone."

If possible, his face fell even more. "No, no, it won't. Damn, I wish Steve had given the job to Patrick." Running his hand through his hair, Matt opened a second chart, mumbling something about color coding and insanity.

Maxie regarded him seriously as he grunted in frustration at whatever he saw. "How about you come over tonight and I'll make dinner?"

Her suggestion stopped him in the middle of writing and he turned to look at her with a skeptical expression. "You're going to do what?"

"I should be offended by that look but I'm going to chalk it up to your crappy day. My cooking's not that bad." Her pronouncement was met with a single blink. "Ok, fine. I was going to order something and pick it up anyway. But you didn't have to make that face."

Matt was saved from defending himself by the beeping of his pager. One quick glance at it and he slammed the chart shut. "I gotta go, but that sounds good. Your place or mine?"

"Mine."

"Great. I'll see you tonight, then."

Matt had only taken a few steps away from her when Maxie called his name, quickly closing the distance between them. She placed a kiss on his cheek. "I hope your day gets better."

"Thanks," he answered smiling for the first time since she'd seen him that day.


	8. Willowwacks

**Author's Note:** This is the word from August 10th.

Follows C6 - Hacienda.

**willowwacks:** a wooded, uninhabited area.

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><p>Matt stopped in the middle of a clearing, quite a walk from the farmhouse they were staying in. "We've gotta be far enough away now."<p>

"No, we're not. Someone could still see."

"Stop stalling and just do it."

"I can't do it here, Matt."

"Why not? There's no one around," he insisted, pointing out the trees surrounding them. There was nothing else there, no squirrels, no birds, and most importantly, no people.

Arms crossed in front of her, Maxie answered, "I shouldn't have to do it at all."

"You never should have bet that you could beat me at Operation," he replied, reminding her of why they were there in the first place. He made no effort to hide his grin. "That's a fool's bet if I ever heard one."

Maxie huffed. It was his attitude and arrogance that had goaded her into taking his bet, even though she _knew_ better. All the talk about what a fantastic surgeon he was, how he'd known as a child when he mastered Operation and decimated all the kids in the neighborhood. How was she supposed to resist that? She couldn't and she didn't and now here she was in the middle of the goddamn woods. "This is seriously not fair."

"Hey, the bet never said anything about privacy, but I went along with your demand to come all the way out here. You should be happy you don't have to do it around the other people at the house."

"Whatever. Fine." There was no point in arguing with him about it. She uncrossed her arms and took her time brushing random flecks of dirt and leaves from her jeans. How she managed to constantly get herself into these ridiculous situations, she would never figure out.

"Anytime today…" Matt merely smiled in the face of her scowl and leaned back against one of the trees to enjoy the show. He had a feeling it would be worth her first day complaints about the trip, her exaggerated pouting when she lost, and the entire walk into the woods from the house. And she never had to know that he'd actually had to concentrate on the game to make sure he won.

"Shut up! I said I would do it." With a deep breath, Maxie closed her eyes and, in doing so, missed Matt reach into his pocket. She tried telling herself that it would only take a couple minutes. The sooner she started, the sooner it was over with. She bent her arms, fists at her waist, and begin chanting, "How funky is your chicken, how funky is your chicken…"

She barely finished the embarrassing routine with the caboose section when Matt gave up the battle with his laughter. Hand across his stomach, he slid down the tree, cackling the whole way to the ground. He didn't even mind the pile of leaves Maxie threw at him when she stomped off to begin her walk back to the house. Small price to pay for that endless piece of entertainment. He'd checked his phone to make sure the video was clear and chuckled again.

Best vacation ever.

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><p><strong>AN 2:** I don't know where this came from! As soon as I saw the word, this scene popped into my head and I started laughing. For those who don't know, the cheer she's doing is from the Buffy movie. If you search "buffy movie funky chicken," you should be able to watch it.


	9. Billet

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay. I'm gonna try to write a bit more this weekend, if I can find the time. This was actually written (mostly) 2 weeks ago. Oops? August 11th word. Hope you like it!**  
><strong>

**billet:** to provide or obtain lodging

* * *

><p>"It's just… weird. I can't think of another word for it. It can't be normal. Is it normal?" His face scrunched in bewilderment, Matt waited expectantly for some words of wisdom from his brother as they stood in line for coffee.<p>

What he got was laughter. "Yes, it's normal. Maxie is not the only woman in the world who hangs her underwear in the bathroom. That's par for the course, little brother."

"Huh. So, not weird then."

The older Drake shook his head. "How's it going otherwise?"

Matt released a long suffering sigh. "She's driving me crazy. She's completely taken over my apartment. Her place was supposed to be ready in a week, but it's been three. My bathroom is no longer my own, my fridge is full of Fiji water and acai flavored yogurt, and she actually packed up some of my clothes to make room for hers. Packed them _in a bin_."

Patrick tried, he really put up a valiant effort not to laugh in his younger brother's face again, but he could not do it. Even the punch Matt delivered to his shoulder, while surprisingly strong, could not subdue the mirth. "Sorry, it's just funny to see it from this side of things. You know, the experienced end. Not the sad bachelor side."

"Screw you, Patrick. I don't even know why I bothered." He ordered his drink and walked to the other side of the counter to wait for his beverage.

Still chuckling, Patrick did the same and followed him over. "Don't get mad. You're only thinking of the negatives right now. But I know there are some perks to this situation." The dopey grin that appeared on his brother's face answered that one with no words necessary. "Exactly. So suck it up. Struggle through the wardrobe shuffle and enjoy the morning sex."

"Now, I know why I bothered. Thank you for that most excellent reminder."

"Thank me by not sharing any details."


	10. Collogue

**Author's Note:** It's almost October and I'm still writing for August? What madness is this? Because I've managed to get so behind, I'm only going to pick a few September words and keep it moving. I've got one more M/M August word written already that I may post today or tomorrow. I'll apologize upfront for how crappy this one is. I just had to post it so I can hopefully get to some better written ones.

**collogue:** to confer secretly

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><p>It was long and difficult, but the surgery was finally over and, most importantly, a success. Placing the patient's chart on the stack at the desk, Matt took the first relaxed breath he'd had in hours. That was as much celebrating as he'd do. After the last loud self congratulations had been cut short by news of Siobhan's death, the thought of doing so again didn't hold any appeal.<p>

He was tucking his pen in his pocket when he saw Patrick and Maxie huddled together. Normally, he'd wonder what was going on, but he decided to let it go, though he let his gaze linger for a few more moments. They parted quickly and Maxie spared him a brief glance, blew a kiss, then hopped on the elevator. He was a little hurt by it, but let that one go, too. At the moment, all he could think about was going home, eating, and relaxing. The first step would be changing clothes. He was in the middle of doing so when his brother approached.

"So. I heard you just finished doing a pretty fantastic job with that last patient. And oddly enough, you weren't the one I heard it from."

It was uncharacteristic for his brother to _want_ to hear him brag. "As much as I would like to tell you about it, and in the process teach you a thing or two, I'm beat. I just want to go home and crash." Matt pulled on his shirt, figuring that would be it, but Patrick continued to push for details, delaying him about fifteen minutes.

It wasn't until he reached his apartment building that hunger hit him full force. He wasn't looking forward to searching his refrigerator for something to eat, knowing whatever was in there wouldn't be satisfying at all. As he got closer to his apartment, he could smell someone's delicious dinner wafting through the air, and his stomach growled. Some lucky neighbor was having what smelled like an absolutely delicious dinner. The closer he got to his door, the stronger the scent. It was pure torture, knowing he wouldn't be eating anything remotely as good. But when he opened his door, the fragrance hit him full force.

He tossed his keys on the table by the door and followed his nose. He stood in the kitchen, dumbfounded by the sight of a pot of pasta on the stove next to a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and glasses. Stepping fully into the room, he turned towards the dining room. Maxie was placing two plates of pasta down on a table set with candles. She turned and jumped a little when she saw him.

"You're early," she said. "I thought I had a few more minutes. Are you surprised?"

"That would be the word, yes."

"Good surprised though, right? Not why are you in my apartment and how did you get here surprised?" She looked a little worried that he might fall into the latter category.

At her question, he realized why she'd been huddled with Patrick. His brother had the spare key to his place and it explained the interest in hearing him talk about his surgery. It was a stalling tactic. Matt set her mind at ease with his response. "Definitely good surprised."

A relieved smile on her face, she said, "Great. Hold that thought." Maxie went back to the kitchen. He turned to watch her pull out a cake from the fridge and set it on the counter. Matt thought he might be in the twilight zone. Maxie had cooked _and_ baked? He continued to watch her silently as she returned with the now uncorked wine and glasses.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but what's the occasion? Did I forget an anniversary?"

Maxie filled the glasses as she answered, "No, I realized that we hadn't seen each other in a while. I know that things have been really heavy for both of us at work and thought we could relax together."

Still firmly settled in the shocking sight of her in the kitchen, he took a seat at the table, as she did the same. After a few moments, Matt attempted the right tone with his next statement. "I can't believe you cooked."

When Maxie laughed, he figured it hadn't come out as innocently as he hoped. "Don't worry, I didn't cook. I got it from that Italian place that we tried. And the cake? The Pillsbury doughboy did the heavy lifting on that one. I did just enough to be able to say I made it."

He hoped she didn't see him sigh with relief as they dug into the meal.


	11. Personalia

**Author's Note:** This is for the August 27th word. I haven't written the next one or picked any of the September words yet, but I'm hoping it will be done this week. Let me know what you think about this one? I'm not sure how I feel about it.

**personalia:** personal details such as biographical data, reminiscences, or the like.

* * *

><p>For some reason she couldn't determine, Maxie's thoughts refused to let her sleep. Staring at Matt in the dimmed light of his bedroom, it crossed her mind that she didn't know many details about his life. She raised a hand and traced the features of his face with her fingers. Her index finger trailed gently down his nose, then lower to lightly trace his lips.<p>

Eyes still closed, he drew the digit into his mouth, nipped at her fingertip. "Stop thinking so loud. I can't sleep."

"Why don't you ever talk about yourself?"

Matt cracked his eyes open. "I talk about myself all the time. Some might say too much."

"No, I mean about you, your life."

His eyes slid closed again. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Sure there is. You know about me." She continued her fingers' travel across his face, her thumb moving to slide across his eyebrows.

"You like to talk a lot."

She rewarded that comment with a pinch of his nose and watched a ghost of a smile appear and immediately disappear from his face. "Really, tell me something."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Special skills? First kiss? First car? First love?"

"I believe I just demonstrated my special skills," he responded with a roguish grin.

"Be serious."

"Piano. Emily Johnson in the third grade. Black '96 Camry."

"You forgot one, so there must be a story. Spill."

She continued to watch his face as he weighed the option of arguing versus giving in. The decision was made quickly, as she knew it would be. They both knew she was like a pitbull when it came to something she wanted. "Fine," he relented with a sigh. "I'd say I was older than most people for a first love, but from the moment I met her, there was something… I don't know. Some indescribable thing about her that caught me. We didn't get along much at first, rubbed each other the wrong way. She was dating someone else and they were pretty serious. I made a few moves, but she turned me down. Which, honestly, only made her that much more appealing."

Maxie was the woman he was with now, but she felt a little jealous of whoever this other girl was. His voice was soft and still full of feeling as he talked about her. That he carried a torch for her after what had to be years later was… unsettling. "Did you ever get together?"

"Eventually, after it didn't work out with the other guy. It took a little while, but no woman can resist me for long."

"So, what happened?" she asked, ignoring the comment that she suspected was intended to steer them down a different conversational path.

"The relationship started off pretty casual for both of us. But it didn't stay that way for me. At some point, I was all in and I didn't even notice."

"Did you tell her?"

"No. I didn't think she was looking for anything serious or permanent or felt the same, so I went with the flow."

"Was she pretty?"

"Gorgeous. Petite, beautiful eyes, and blonde hair that I liked best when it was long."

Maxie felt like she could hear her heart pounding. The jealousy she'd felt dissipated as a new thought occurred to her, making her feel a bit idiotic for not catching on sooner. "Do you still see her?"

"Yeah."

"What's her name?" the question came out as a whisper, but she knew he heard it.

It was then that he finally opened his eyes again and what she saw there confirmed her suspicion. "I think you know."

"Matt…" Maxie had no idea what expression he saw on her face, but it made him bring his hand up to her face, and pull her close for a kiss that, combined with what she'd just learned, left her reeling. She didn't know what she was feeling, what she was supposed to do or say. More than anything, she was shocked that she wasn't in panic mode.

"Are you staying?" he asked, tension in every part of him. The hand on her cheek had traveled south to her hip, gently bringing her closer.

She knew Matt thought she was going to run, but she realized she didn't want to. It felt good, knowing he loved her, even though she couldn't say the words back to him. She wasn't ready and she owed it to both of them to be ready when she did. But on this matter, she could ease his mind. "I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
